The present invention relates to segregation of conveyor delivered materials, and more particularly to segregation in which the conveyors are used both for transport of the materials and for segregating the delivered materials at selected discharge stations.
Segregation of materials and collection in separate bins or containers is a task often accomplished manually, or by individual delivery devices that lead from an input source to the collection sites.
In one example, it is growing more common to find material collection vehicles such as shredding or recycle trucks with a transported collection bin divided into several compartments, each for receiving a different material. The material being collected, however, is not typically initially segregated; and the attendant must move from one bin to the next to segregate the materials and deposit them in the proper bins. This is time consuming and in an area where profitability margins are extremely slim, greater efficiency is desirable.
Another problem area exists in collection of materials such as shredded paper that may be easily picked up in gusts of wind from otherwise open collection bins. If the bins are covered to avoid this circumstance, a collection attendant will likely be charged with the added task of opening each bin before depositing the collected, segregated materials. This adds to the time consuming process and further degrades efficiency.
A need has therefor remained for an effective, efficient way to segregate and collect disparate materials, especially in material collection vehicles. The present invention was developed as a solution to such need.
An objective of the present invention is thus to provide a material segregation and delivery apparatus will permit infeed of materials at a single feed station for delivery to several collection containers.
A further objective is to provide such an apparatus that may be mounted on a transport vehicle.
These and still further objectives and advantages will be understood from the following disclosure which, taken with the drawings and appended claims, set forth exemplary embodiments of the present invention.